A domain name is a unique word or phrase in a particular format that allows people to find information on the Internet. The Domain Name System (DNS) maps domain names to servers where the content resides, based on each server's Internet Protocol (IP) address (for example, 192.0.2.53 or 2001:503:A83:0:0:2:30). Instead of searching for information by IP address, a domain name allows people to search for Web sites and send email using familiar, easy to remember names.

For the Internet to function and to prevent duplication of web addresses there has to be one authoritative place to register a domain name. Each TLD has an authoritative registry, which manages a centralized database. The registry inputs the information about domain names in TLD zone files to enable communication over the Internet for applications like credit card processing, bank transactions as well as Web browsing and email. A registry provides direct service to registrars who provide direct service to domain name registrants.

Domain extensions like .info, .mobi, .org and .tv enjoy specific niche markets, which is great if that is what you need for your online branding. .CO is different in that it is more general in meaning and not niche specific.

.CO is registered just like all the other domain extensions. You can get it from domain retailers (a/k/a registrars) for one year or multiple years in advance. As long as you renew your .CO web address, it's yours to keep.

Registrants are people or organizations that would like to register and use a domain name.

Registrars provide domain name registration services directly to registrants such as helping them find, register, renew, and delete domain names. They send the information to the registry for entry into the centralized registry database, WHOIS. Accredited Registrars of .CO Internet are those registrars that have executed an Administrator-Registry Agreement (ARA) with .CO Internet or are a reseller of an accredited registrar.

You can! .CO has liberal registration policies following international best practices. Anyone in the world can register and transfer .CO domains — with no burdensome documentation requirements. Any registrant in the world can create their opportunity and have more choice in branding online by securing short, memorable and global .CO domain names.

The standard price of .CO domain names will generally differ from retailer to retailer, depending on the level of service offered and the various packages, promotions or discounts a retailer may be offering at any given time. It’s always a good idea to shop around for the best possible deal.

While you may find different prices and promotions out there, the annual price tag for registering a standard .CO domain name is typically higher than a standard .com domain -- and some other legacy generic domain extensions (like .biz and .org). This pricing strategy aims to encourage people to actually build websites and businesses of value on their .CO domain names – and to deter them from registering domain names in bulk that they have no plan or intention of using.

Yes. Although, .CO domains are available exclusively through accredited registrars and their related entities, other registrars are able to offer .CO domains as a reseller and have the technology, expertise and ability to offer the .CO TLD to you at competitive prices. .CO Internet supports not only its accredited registrars, but also the multitude of resellers that also sell .CO domain names.

• Domains must be a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 63 characters, not including the TLD.

• A domain may only contain letters, numbers or the special character hyphen. However, a hyphen may not begin or end a name, nor have two or more consecutive hyphens, in the 3rd and 4th positions. No other special characters are permitted.

• Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Characters are allowed.

Yes. Currently, you may register .CO domain names with language tags in European, Scandinavian and Asian IDNs. Other languages are being reviewed and may be implemented in the future. The following is a list of languages available for .CO domain names and language policies may be found here. Additional information for .CO IDNs may be found with IANA's IDN Repository.

Languages Available:

• Chinese

• Danish

• Finnish

• French

• German

• Hungarian

• Islandic

• Japanese

• Korean

• Latvian

• Lithuanian

• Norwegian

• Portuguese

• Russian

• Spanish

• Swedish

IDN registration requests are submitted in ACE format accompanied by a language code. You must first convert Unicode to Punycode, which is then converted into ACE format for registratioin. You can use GNU’s IDN Library to assist you in converting your IDNs to ACE format. The IDN Library can be found at http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/. You may also use the .CO Punycode converter to assist you in IDN registrations. The punycode converter may be found at http://www.whois.co/co/ace_convert/convert_ace.cgi.

No, not all registrars offer Internationalized Domain Name registrations. Please contact your preferred registrar or reseller provider directly for information on their ability to register your .CO IDN request.

To transfer your domain name to another registrar, you will need an Auth-Code (also known as an EPP Code) which is a domain password for verification and security purposes. Please contact your registrar to begin a transfer request and receive current registrar transfer policies. .CO Internet does not issue or confirm Auth-Codes for registered .CO domain names.

There are some policies to keep in mind as you contact your registrar to begin the transfer process. Please also contact your registrar or reseller directly for any additional policies.

• Transfers are not permitted within the first 60 days of registration

• Transfers are not permitted within 60 days of a previous transfer

• Successful transfers will result in a one-year domain name renewal registration

If your domain name expired, you need to contact your registrar or reseller provider about renewing. If you don't know who your provider is, you may search the .CO WHOIS database for your domain name. The results will show the accredited registrar responsible for registering your domain name so that you can contact them.

The Add Grace Period is the 5 days following the registration of a domain. The purpose of AGP is to allow registrars and/or registrants to correct for inadvertent registrations due to misspellings or errors in the registration process. Usually, if a domain is deleted or cancelled within the first 5 days of registration, a full refund is provided. However, each registrar and reseller provider has their own published policies and procedures. Please check with your preferred provider for their specific AGP and deletion policies.

The Redemption Grace Period is the 20 days following the deletion of a domain. The purpose of RGP is to allow registrars and/or registrants to correct for inadvertent deletions. During the first 15 days of the Redemption Grace Period, registrars may request the Registry to redeem the deleted domain, and thus restore it to its original disposition prior to deletion. Redemptions may NOT be performed during the final five days of the RGP. The WHOIS record will indicate if the domain is eligible for redemption. Domains that are eligible are marked "PendingDelete (restorable)". Ineligible domains have the status "PendingDelete (scheduled for release)". All redemption requests must be submitted through your registrar.

Yes, Proxy or Privacy registration services may be used through your registrar or reseller provider. However, .CO Registrants must still abide by the .CO Domain Name Terms of Use. The Policy requires that true registrant information be provided by Registrars and their Resellers if requested due to a Colombian law-enforcement action or other Governmental request. True registrant information will only be requested upon a legitimate law-enforcement request for information.

The .CO Registry has implemented ICANN’s Add Grace Period (AGP) Limits Policy that was initiated within the gTLD name space in March 2009. For more information on the AGP Limits Policy, you may view the ICANN website or contact your registrar directly for additional information.

All .CO premium domain names are valued based on a variety of attributes including thousands of historic and comparable sales, current market trends, keyword and keyword phrase popularity among other things. From time to time, the .CO Registry will evaluate its premium domain name price structure and options which may result in necessary adjustments to continue to meet market value and demand. For specific premium domain name prices, please check with your preferred .CO domain retailer. It is important to note that prices will vary according to each retailer’s individual pricing policies and practices.

The .CO Registry has reserved a number of domains that will not be available for registration or sold through registrars. These include:

• Restricted Domain List: The Restricted Domain List generally consists of names stipulated by the Colombian Government as restricted and not available for registration.

• Reserved Domain List:The Reserved Domain List generally consists of names reserved by the .CO Registry for promotional and/or other strategic purposes, and/or for its or its affiliates’ internal use.

• Super Premium Domain List: The Super Premium Domain List generally consists of names reserved by the .CO Registry for future sale via public or private auction and/or negotiated transactions, including single and double character names, keywords and generic terms.

The .CO registry has not published a publicly available list of all the Premium and Reserved domain names. The Restricted Domain List is accessible here (PDF).

To check the availability of a particular desired .CO domain name, please go to go.co/register. If the domain is part of the Super Premium Names list, it will be noted there; just fill out the form on the page to inquire about the name.

To determine the availability of your ideal .CO domain name or find alternate options, please visit our search page.

We began with a structured sunrise and implemented a number of important rights protection mechanisms to ensure for the fair and orderly distribution of domains. Our policies were designed with the guidance and counsel of ICANN’s Intellectual Property Constituency in mind; along with the lessons learned from previous domain launches and consultations with a variety of global domain registries.

Among other things, our rights protection initiatives include the following: Reservation of Premium Names. The .CO registry has held back certain generic words and phrases to be allocated via sales or other defined allocation processes and programs.

Uniform Dispute Resolution Process. We have contracted with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the National Arbitration Forum to oversee the arbitration and mediation of domain name disputes that may arise.

Reliable WHOIS Data. The .CO Registry is built with Thick WHOIS data and registrants are required to keep their data updated and accurate at all times.

Rapid Domain Compliance Process. We have a process in place to rapidly take down any website in cases where phishing, pharming, malware, or other significant security threats have been identified. We are also putting in place policies to quickly suspend domains in instances where serial cyber-squatting can be established.

If you believe that your trademark rights are being infringed upon by someone who has registered a .CO domain name, you can contact the domain owner directly by finding their contact information at www.whois.co. If direct contact does not resolve the conflict, then you have the option to utilize the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), which has been adopted by the .CO Registry and is based upon the best practice recommendations of ICANN for domain dispute resolution. For more information on these tools and the general administration policy for .CO domain names please see Policies & Procedures for Dispute Resolution.

The .CO Registry will implement Neustar, Inc.’s procedures to rapidly take down any website in cases where phishing, pharming, malware, or other significant security threats have been identified. We are also reviewing procedures and policies to quickly suspend domains in instances where serial cyber-squatting can be established. For more information, please see our Rapid Domain Compliance procedures.

No. Pursuant to ICANN’s Guidebook and best practices in domain registry management, we will not allow or facilitate wildcarding within the .CO name space.

A “wildcard” consists of redirecting unresolved traffic (non-existent domains) to a landing page that is controlled by the registry, ISP, or DNS operator. This practice, although common amongst the major ISPs and some DNS operators, has been thought to create technical glitches in the DNS. Most importantly, in our view, the use of a wildcard by the operator of a registry has a negative impact on the credibility of the registry, and, in the case of a ccTLD, a negative impact on the perception of the Country itself.

As part of our commitment to proactively combat domain name abuse; and to make .CO one of the safest, most secure domain extensions on the Internet, we plan to stay current with various technical and security upgrades available, including the implementation of DNSSEC. With the signing of the root zone in 2010 by ICANN, the .CO registry felt it equally important to provide .CO registrants and Internet users worldwide the assurance that the .CO websites they visit are protected.

Full deployment of DNSSEC will ensure the end user is connecting to the actual web site or other service corresponding to a particular domain name. Although this will not solve all the security problems of the Internet, it does protect a critical piece of it - the directory lookup - complementing other technologies such as SSL and provide a platform for yet to be developed security improvements.

If you wish to implement DNSSEC on your .CO domain name(s), please contact your registrar or reseller provider directly. The .CO registry cannot implement DNSSEC directly on registered .CO domains, but has made it available within the name space for this important security upgrade.

Further information regarding DNSSEC may be found with numerous sources. Related recommended information regarding the signing of the Root Zone may be found on ICANN’s website. Also, material regarding the technical implications and resources of DNSSEC may be found in our DNSSEC Tools and Resources section or at www.DNSSEC.net.